Chances of the Scrolls
by Annclaire
Summary: This story's an alternate universe, set in ancient times in a made-up land. Chi-Chi, Eighteen and Bulma are prisoners of war, and their names have been placed in the famous basket to decide their future husbands. But what will be the consequences? Pairing
1. Chapter One: The Captives of Saiya, Eyra...

(Author's Notes: I think it was the Greek who did this, but I'm not sure. Anyways, on a girl's coming of age, she would have her name written down on a scroll, and the name was placed in a large basket of sorts. Then, on a certain day of the year, the young men of age who hadn't been married yet pulled a name from the basket, and that was whom they married. What would Chi-Chi, Bulma, and Eighteen do when they become prisoners of war and have their names placed in the basket? In this story, you find out...  
  
Disclaimers for the entire story: I do not own Goku, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Vegeta, Eighteen, Krillin, Yamucha, Master Roshi, the Lord (King Vegeta in AU), and anyone in the Dragon Ball Z cast. Anyone you don't recognize, though, I have probably made them up.  
  
AU Changes: In this story, Goku, Krillin, Vegeta, Bulma, Eighteen, and Chi-Chi are the same age- 17, turning 18. Yamucha is a year older than them. Vegeta is not a prince, but the son of the ruler of their territory. Goku, Krillin, and Vegeta, the Lord, Goku's family, and Yamucha have tails, the symbol of their homeland Saiya. None of the girls have tails. Master Roshi had a tail, but after he became the Keeper of the Scrolls, he lost it to old age. That's about it. No one can fly, but they can fight and move incredibly fast, and sense ki, which they call the life force.  
  
Well, enjoy!)  
  
Chapter One: The Captives of Saiya, Eyras   
  
"Let me go, you bastards." Chi-Chi's voice was menacingly frosty as she glared at her captors. Who, in return, roared with laughter. One of them sneered at her and teasingly reached out to tug on a lock of her ebony mane. Chi-Chi jerked away from his hand, hatred clearly visible in her eyes.   
  
"Keep your hands off me, you asshole!" she hissed warningly, glaring with complete loathing at the man. The tall fighter laughed in cold amusement.   
  
"I pity the one who draws her name from the Basket," he commented to his fellow warriors, all who nodded agreement with his words.   
  
"Leave the captives alone, Raditz. You have your own spouse, so don't torment some of the future mates," an amused voice ordered from within the group of soldiers. A tall, handsome middle-aged man stepped out of the group. Noticing who it was, the man quickly bowed low to the ground.   
  
"All right, Father," he said, as Chi-Chi switched her glare to Raditz's father.   
  
"Bardock, I don't think the prisoner appreciates your help," commented another within the group. Turning to see what the other was talking about, the leader of the troop noticed her defiant stare, and smirked with mirth.  
  
"Something wrong, captive?" he drawled, one finger absently tracing the red scar that made its way down his tanned face.   
  
"Yes," Chi-Chi replied hatefully. "You all should be burning in Hell." The blow was so unexpected that the girl didn't realize she had been slapped until she was sprawled on the earth, her head spinning from the hit. Chi-Chi struggled to get upright, but found her limbs wouldn't obey. So she lay there, feeling her awareness shutting down into unconsciousness.   
  
"Raditz!" Bardock's voice was harsh with suppressed anger, and as the light that was her vision dimmed even more, Chi-Chi heard Raditz mumble an apology. Then everything faded to night, and the throbbing in her head was gone, replaced by oblivion.   
  
  
Captain Bardock looked fiercely at his red-faced son as he gathered the immobile young woman into his muscular arms, enraged at his offspring's stupidity.   
  
"If she has any permanent damage, the lord will have your hide, Raditz," he seethed, glowering at his middle son. Raditz scuffled in embarrassment, still slightly cross about the loud-mouthed captive's words.   
  
"She deserved it," he mumbled, not meeting his father's eyes as he did so. A sharp box of his ears quickly silenced his mumblings. Ignoring his son's frown, Bardock turned to his troop, his eyes taking in the captives they had captured in Solace, capital of Succor, a neighboring mountain country. He had heard that two other captains had been sent to raid Yellowstone and High Waters, two prominent cities in the flatlands of Gully, a country bordering both Succor and Eyras, the country that Bardock and his family lived in. As he gave the order to march home, he wondered how the other two captains had fared. After all, one of the captains was his oldest progeny.   
  
  
"Ow! Captain, she bit me!" Turles rolled his eyes at the idiocy of his troop. A small part of him wished he could be back in his father's troop, but the rest was proud that he was finally the leader of a unit, even if they were all brainless. They still got the job done.   
  
"Then take your hand away from her mouth, Yamucha," he suggested, barely managing to keep his voice under control. Scowling at the blue-haired girl who had bitten him, Yamucha followed the plan his chief had told him, and began to suck furiously on the bleeding appendage.   
  
Baring her teeth, the crimson blood on them giving evidence to Yamucha's yelp, the girl snarled, "And I'll do that again to the next bastard feels me up!" Noticing the young woman's exotic beauty, Turles couldn't help but understand Yamucha wanting to lay a hand on her. He sighed slightly in disappointment. Too bad only royals were allowed to have more than one wife, and that Turles already had one. Although by the younger fighters' lustful glances, he could tell that whoever pulled this one's name from the Basket would be extremely envied. All the fighters of the group had the wives the normal coloring of their homeland: black hair, tanned skin, and black eyes. This noisy vixen had azure locks that tumbled wildly halfway down her back, her flesh was fair and unburned, and her eyes were so blue that a man could drown within them. Turles sighed once more. At least he had a pretty wife to content himself with. Others weren't so lucky.   
  
"Come on, spoiled brat," he ordered, giving the girl a rather hard shove back into the captive line. "We've got to go home."   
  
"You mean your home," she grumbled, but grudgingly followed the prisoner in front of her as they began to march from the ruins of High Waters to their territory in Eyras. A place called Saiya.  
  
  
"Come on, girl, we're not going to hurt you," one of the warriors attempted to say coaxingly, peering up at the tall girl who sat in the branches, glaring furiously down at him.   
  
"Say away from me!" was her angry response, her bright blue eyes flashing. Then Eighteen snorted, almost bitterly amused at his words. "Not going to hurt me? Did you just forget what you did to Yellowstone, you dim jerk?" The bald-headed fighter scowled as some of his companions snickered.   
  
"Get down here, you stupid bitch!" he exploded, his black eyes narrowing. "Before I come up there and get you!" In reply, the incensed girl gave him the finger. With a growl of rage, the fighter grabbed the base of the tree with his powerful hands and began to shake and uproot it. The anger on her face was replaced by shock and horror as Eighteen clung desperately to the branch she sat on, trying not to fall.   
  
"Nappa, leave her alone. I'll get her without you taking the entire tree down," a calm voice commented, and the fighter paused long enough to sneer over his shoulder, "I don't need your help, Kakarrot. You're not even of age yet."   
  
"Sure you do," a younger fighter who emerged from the crowd informed him amiably. "Leave the tree alone for a sec." Without waiting for a reply, the young man called Kakarrot quickly scaled the tree with the skill of someone who had climbed trees often during his childhood. Before Eighteen could even blink, the young warrior had snatched her from the branch by the back of her shirt, and had leapt to the earth. He grinned at Nappa's glare, and carefully set her on her feet, keeping his hand around her neck so she wouldn't run away again.   
  
"Get off me," Eighteen hissed, trying to squirm out of his strong grip. Kakarrot grinned good-naturedly.   
  
"Not if you're going to run away again," he stated firmly. Eighteen eyed the warriors who had stealthily surrounded her, and faintly sighed, all fight draining from her for the moment.   
  
"Fine," she mumbled, not meeting the warrior's eyes. Nodding, Kakarrot released her. He turned to smile at the rest of group.   
  
"Isn't it about time we headed home?" he asked, running a hand through his tousled mane, their usual ebony locks teased by the strong wind.  
  
"Yes," Nappa grumbled, still glaring at both Eighteen and Kakarrot. The girl wasn't sure who he looked on with more hatred. "Let's go home." The troop cheered happily as Eighteen's heart sank. This wasn't good at all...  
  
  
Meanwhile, the blue-eyed and -haired girl's head was hung low as she miserably marched forward. She wanted to go home, but home was a burning ruin now. She didn't even know if her father and mother were still alive. Bulma Briefs felt tears rise to her eyes, but she forced them away, not wanting any of her captors to see her weeping. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction. Even so, she had to bite her lip, hard, to keep from sobbing aloud. Luckily, none of the warriors noticed her misery, for they were too busy tormenting a sniveling captive. Well, most of them were, that is. Bulma noticed the leader- Turles, hadn't it been?- wasn't joining in any of the taunting. Instead, he was scanning the horizon, looking serious. Maybe not all of them were bastards, she mused to herself, and then shook her head in disagreement. Nah. They all were.   
  
  
Bardock watched his troop laugh amongst themselves as he carried the unconscious girl that his son had struck. Shifting her slightly in his arms, he studied her face. She was the coloring of his homeland with those jet-black tresses that framed her still face, but he had seen her eyes, which were a deep, deep brown instead of black. Her skin was slightly bronzed by outside work, but she wasn't brown, as were most girls of the land of his birth. Her bone structure and entire frame was delicate, but, recalling the steel in her voice from before, she wasn't as weak as she appeared. All in all, she quite beautiful and lovely to look at. He would be curious to find out who picked her during the Ceremony of Marriage. Wasn't it only a few months away? Around three, he recalled. Shaking his head in annoyance as he noticed a large, unsightly bruise beginning to form on the side of her face where Raditz had hit her, he promised himself he would have a word with his middle son about keeping his temper when dealing with prisoners. Reallocating the girl once more, he continued to walk steadily towards the motherland. Home to his mate, and to see how Turles had done during his first time as captain.   
  
  
"Welcome home!" was the warm cry that met all three troops' ears as they entered the capital of their lord's large province. The three groups waved to everyone in the gathering, and Kakarrot ignored the death-glares he was receiving from the girl he had captured in the tree as he stood in front of her. Suddenly, everything went quiet as two royal figures walked forward to meet the three groups. The trio of captains bowed formally to the lord and his son.   
  
"Names and reports, Captains?" the lord wanted to know, his arms across his chest and scowl firmly in place. Bardock cleared his throat, and, bowing once more, stepped forward.   
  
"Bardock, milord, Commander of Troop Thirteen," he said officially. "We attacked and burned every single building to the ground in Solace, killing every adult and male or young female child we saw-" At that, several of the captives stifled sobs, but Kakarrot's father ignored them. "We captured fifteen girls coming of age, and brought back seven stallions, five mares, eight sows, three boars, ten chickens, and three roosters, along with valuables we haven't sorted out yet." The Saiyan lord nodded sharply, and Bardock immediately fell silently. It was Turles's turn.   
  
"Turles, sire, Commander of Troop Nineteen. We destroyed the entire city of High Waters, bringing back twelve girls coming of age. We also brought six stallions, six mares, seven sows, five boars, two rooster, one milk cow, and many spoils."  
  
"Nappa, Your Highness, Commander of Troop Twenty-Six. We destroyed the entire city of Yellowstone-" and Kakarrot knew the blond girl was glaring at him "-and have returned with ten girls of age, eight stallions, two mares, four sows, eight boars, two chickens, and one bull." The son of the lord at last spoke, his arrogant words reaching everyone's ears.   
  
"You brought much less than either Turles or Bardock, Nappa. Why?" The bald captain flushed slightly, but that was his only outward sign of embarrassment.   
  
"When we attacked the edge of the city, the inhabitants began destroying anything of value, milord," he replied, a hint of an angry edge in his words. The lord's son sneered in scorn before he retorted.   
  
"Looks like Yellowstone was smarter than you thought, eh Nappa?"   
  
"Damn straight!" a voice mockingly called from right behind Kakarrot. Color drained from his face as he realized it had been the blonde prisoner who had spoken. The lord's son turned, a scowl replacing the smirk.   
  
"Who said that?" he demanded, his obsidian eyes blazing with anger. No one mocked him and got away with it. Kakarrot hesitated, and then stepped aside to reveal the now-smirking young woman.   
  
"She did, Lord Vegeta," he said, pointing at the culprit. "One of the captives." His eyes narrowed, Vegeta stormed over to stand in front of the prisoner.   
  
"Did you think that was funny, girl?" he questioned softly, in a dangerous tone. The girl's smile widened slightly.   
  
"Quite funny," she said, not bothering to add a title. Murmurs of disapproval echoed through the crowd, and Vegeta's cheeks burned crimson.   
  
"You won't be laughing in three months, brat," he sneered, and indeed, the girl's grin vanished.  
  
"I'll be gone in three months," was her determined reply. Vegeta's eyes narrowed to slits, and Kakarrot knew there was going to be trouble if he didn't stop this.  
  
"Yeah, you could be dead," Kakarrot piped up, trying to calm his lord down. Vegeta glared at him.   
  
"Kakarrot?"  
  
"Yes, sire?"  
  
"Shut up." Kakarrot sighed.   
  
"Yes, Lord Vegeta." As the young man watched, Vegeta turned to glower at the captive, but the deadly fury had vanished from his eyes. Kakarrot's distraction had worked.   
  
"I'll enjoy seeing who has the burden of taming you, brat," he sneered, then turned and returned to his father's side as the girl tossed back, "I'll enjoy seeing who tames you, jerk!" Despite his orders, Kakarrot couldn't help but snicker and comment.   
  
"No mate is going to tame him," he informed the girl, still laughing. "It'll be the other way around!"  
  
"Kakarrot?" The young warrior in question looked up to grin goofily at his regal friend.  
  
"Yeah, Lord Vegeta?"  
  
"I thought I told you to shut up."  
  
"Sorry, milord," Kakarrot sighed, ignoring the girl's smirk.   
  
  
Bulma watched the exchange through narrowed eyes. So that was the lord's son, she concluded, watching the young man, who was around her age, swagger after his father as they left. What an arrogant jerk. But why had that other man called the lord's son Lord Vegeta? In every land, including Eyras, they called the heir to the province the Crown Lord or Lady. Maybe the man was just stupid, she decided, watching him smile inanely. Although he did seem nicer than most of the other warriors around. She shrugged her slender shoulders, then stiffened as the fighter she had bitten turned to her.   
  
"Time to meet the Keeper of the Scrolls, wench," the warrior called Yamucha sneered, gripping her elbow painfully. With a start, she realized that an enemy was accompanying each prisoner to whoever this Keeper of the Scrolls was. She glared at him.  
  
"Get off of me, bastard," she hissed, yanking her elbow from his grasp. Yamucha's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more, simply motioning for her to follow him. She did so, counting the other young women and noting with some surprise that all looked almost eighteen. Thirty-seven girls, including herself.   
  
"Hurry up!" Yamucha barked, and, rolling her eyes, Bulma grudgingly complied, after glancing curiously back at the still grinning warrior for one quick second and wondering who he was many seconds more.   
  
  
Having waited until Vegeta had left, Kakarrot hurried over to his father, beaming.   
  
"Hi, Dad!" In return, Bardock handed the inert girl he held to his youngest son.   
Kakarrot blinked in confusion, managing a bewildered, "Huh?"  
  
"I'm going to take a bath. You can take this 'un to the Keeper," Bardock verified. His youngest offspring blinked, looking down at the young girl he now held in his arms. The first thing he noticed was the large, ugly bruise that began at the corner of her left eye and ended at her chin. Kakarrot whistled at the purplish bruise.   
  
"Who gave her that?" he questioned, looking up at his father in astonishment. Bardock rolled his eyes.   
  
"Who do you think, Kakarrot?" he asked sardonically. Kakarrot didn't even need to guess.   
  
"Raditz?"   
  
"She deserved it," the middle child of Bardock growled as he passed, dragging a frightened girl behind him. This time, both Kakarrot and Bardock rolled their eyes. Slowly, the girl in Kakarrot's arms stirred, and he smiled kindly down at her as her eyes fluttered open.   
  
"Hello," he said cheerfully to the dazed young woman. Then her eyes, half-hidden by her long dark lashes, widened as her head cleared. Before Kakarrot could even tell her she was safe, she poked him hard in the eye. As Bardock doubled over laughing, his son howled in pain and danced around, still holding the girl in his arms. Enraged, she poked him in the other eye, relentless.   
  
"Let me go!" she shrieked at the same time he yelped loudly, "Stop hurting me!" Glaring at him, she reached up and smacked him hard on the noggin. With a pained whine, he dropped her onto the dust, hands going to his aching forehead. Rubbing his brow aggrievedly, he frowned down at her.   
  
"Why'd you do that?" he questioned in an injured tone. "I wasn't going to hurt you."   
  
"Yeah, more like rape me or something," the girl spat at him from her position on the ground, glowering defiantly up at him. Kakarrot sighed. Why was he stuck with all the insufferable women today?  
  
"You're just as bad as that blonde," he commented, still holding his forehead. "I'm not going to rape you, or any of the captives. None of us are allowed to touch any of you like that, unless you want us to."   
  
"Well," the young woman began heatedly, "I don't want-" She stopped as a pained yell resounded through the empty gathering-place. Bardock, Kakarrot, and the dark-haired girl turned in time to watch the blonde from earlier crumple halfway to the ground, clutching at her left hand in a way that suggested that her wrist was broken. Nappa towered over her, his look murderous.   
  
"Looks like you won't be climbing any trees any time soon, does it?" he gloated, raising his massive hand to strike her on her unmarred face. Instantly, Kakarrot was there, the look in his eyes pure wrath as his temper finally got the better of him.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Nappa?" he asked dangerously, his tone even more deadly than Vegeta's had been. He realized that he had actually blasphemed for once, and that he hadn't used a proper label for the captain, but right now he really didn't give a damn. Nappa took one look at his face and gulped, but stayed stubborn.   
  
"Teaching this bitch some lessons," he growled, his hand moving slightly upward to retrace its previous attempted swing. Kakarrot had shattered the older fighter's wrist before either had known what was happening.   
  
As his commander fell to his knees with a surprised cry of pain, Kakarrot avowed calmly and impersonally, "Next time, Captain, remember that when a woman is a captive in Saiya, no warrior is allowed to harm her." Leaving Nappa to his injury, he turned to the young woman, and found her scowling at him.   
  
"I could have taken care of him myself," she snapped, and Kakarrot rolled his eyes, his infrequent fury draining away to be locked tightly within to wait for another rare outburst like the one that had just occurred.   
  
"I'm going to get my ass kicked by Lord Vegeta because of that incident, and you're mad at me for helping you?" he reckoned, and when she nodded, sighed. What a thank-you. Turning, he called out to one of his friends who had stayed behind to watch the captives go to the Keeper, "Krillin!"   
  
The extremely stunted-in-height man walked over, and from behind him, Kakarrot heard the blonde stifle a snigger.   
  
"Yeah, Kakarrot?" he questioned, unable to hide a grin as he neatly stepped around Nappa.   
  
"Could you take this girl to the Keeper? I'm taking someone already, and it doesn't... look like Nappa is up for it," Kakarrot commented, and the two friends shared a smirk and a laugh as Nappa cursed at him.  
  
Krillin, still grinning, nodded and said, "Sure." He stepped up to the girl, who had struggled to her feet, and looked up... and up... and up.   
  
"Hi," he said with an impish smile. "Do you want to go to the infirmary after seeing the Keeper?" he added, noticing her swelling wrist. The blonde woman rolled her eyes.   
  
"No shit, shortie," she drawled, causing Krillin's grin to fade slightly. He was tired of being mocked by people just because he was the shortest seventeen-year-old Saiyan ever.   
  
"The name's Krillin," he emphasized, and the woman tossed her head, looking uninterested.   
  
"Whatever," she remarked, her voice holding an odd twang as she spoke. Nevertheless, the short fighter frowned.   
  
"Krillin," he persisted, gazing stubbornly up at her. The blonde smirked, and shook her head, sending golden curls everywhere. Unconsciously, Krillin followed the locks, and found himself flushing with embarrassment as they landed a little lower than her throat. The young woman's smirk widened as she noticed the look.   
  
Ducking his head, Krillin muttered, "C'mon. Let's go introduce you to the Keeper."   
  
"Oh, lead on, Krillin the Short," the young woman quipped sarcastically, laying a hand on his shoulder. Struggling hard to keep the blood from rushing to his face at the sensation of a beautiful girl's hand on him, the Saiyan decided her version of his name would have to do.   
  
"Then let's go then," he said, quickly pulling from her grasp before she could humiliate him anymore. He caught Kakarrot's amused look, and glared at his friend before hurrying in the direction of the Temple and hearing her footsteps behind him as she followed.   
  
  
Kakarrot grinned, watching the two opposites head off before turning to find the girl who had poked him the eyes watching him with an odd look on her face. The young warrior looked questioningly at her, and the look disappeared, replaced by a familiar scowl.   
  
"Who is this Keeper, anyway?" she demanded irritably, her full lips pursed in a frown. Kakarrot shrugged, brushing away the thought that she was pretty when she wasn't glaring at him.   
  
"I'll explain it on the way," he said, and as he led the girl to the Temple, he did.   
  
The Keeper of the Scrolls had been at the Temple since before anyone could remember. Even Lord Vegeta's grandfather, before the lord had killed him during the succession to the throne, didn't know how old the ancient, perverted man called Master Roshi was. Even as perverted as the elderly man was, he nevertheless was the Keeper, but recorded everyone's names and histories in the Books of Saiya. Every birth, marriage, and death was recorded in the Books. And so it was he who worked the Ceremony of Marriage. On a date Roshi chose, those who have had their coming of age for turning eighteen during the year gather at the Temple, dressed in ceremonial clothing. The young men drew names from the Basket of Choosing, and whoever's name was on the slip of scroll was from then on his wife. After all had been paired, the Ceremony began, and after a month of being completely alone with their new mates, they returned to their regular lives, although they now lived together. And that was the way it had always been.   
  
The young woman looked at him in disbelief when he had finished.   
  
"Do you mean to tell me," she squawked, gaping, "that you choose a name from a basket and whoever her name is, you marry her?" Kakarrot smiled at her.   
  
"You mean we. All the captives' names are being written in the Books," he informed her brightly, and the girl looked as if she was about to faint.   
  
  
"Here you go," Yamucha said gruffly to someone within the stone castle, and shoved Bulma inside, closing the door with a loud boom of finality. Bulma shifted, glancing around the temple in a mixture of confusion and awe at what she saw.   
  
The very walls were made of pure gold, and the mosaics on them were not made of stone, but of valuable jewels such as sapphires and rubies. There was only two pieces of furniture within the enormous room. A gigantic pedestal that propped up the largest book she had ever seen that was titled 'Life Records', and a small, rickety rocking chair with an extremely old man residing in it.   
  
Bulma nearly laughed aloud, but controlled herself. The aged gentleman looked up from the book, in which he had been writing with a large quill of blackest sable to grin at her and reveal he was missing several teeth.   
  
"Well, hello beautiful," he called, his eyes hidden by an odd darkness in his glasses. "What might your name be?" When Bulma hesitated, he cackled, adding, "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm not going to tell anyone." At last, she gave in. The old man would probably forget her name within minutes anyway.   
  
"Bulma Briefs." The ancient scribbled it down in the enormous book, and for a second she was alarmed. Then she relaxed, recalling Yamucha growling to her that only the Keeper ever read the Books. She wondered where the rest of the Books were, since they were always mentioned in plural form, and then pushed the thought aside.  
  
"Your parents?"  
  
"Doctor William Briefs and Madam Andrea Fox-Briefs."   
  
"Any siblings?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Your place of birth?"   
  
"High Waters, Gully."  
  
"Your age?"  
  
"Seventeen, but my birthday is in three days." To her surprise, the old man beamed, as if the answer pleased him.   
  
"Are you engaged or married?"  
  
"No," Bulma said, snorting at the thought. "I'm never getting married. Father said I didn't have to if I didn't want to." The ancient chuckled, but continued with the questions.   
  
"Occupation?" Bulma grinned proudly as she answered.   
  
"Head Scientist of High Waters City." The old man looked dully impressed, cracking her another toothy grin.   
  
"That's all the information I needed," he stated, standing. Bulma could have sworn she heard his ancient bones creak as he hobbled towards her. "Good luck, Bulma Briefs."  
  
"Thank you, sir," she replied, slightly mystified by his words.  
  
"Please, call me Roshi. Would you do something for this poor, old man?" he suddenly asked, his manner wheedling. Bulma eyed him, and then shrugged.  
  
"Come here." He beckoned her with a long, bony finger. Still a trifle wary of his attitude, she obeyed, leaning forward as he whispered something in her ear. The azure-haired girl listened for a moment, her face blank. Abruptly, she jerked away, glaring furiously at him.  
  
"You... You perverted retched man!" she shouted, her face flushing red as she clenched her fists. "I'm going to kill you!" At that statement, the door flew open and Yamucha raced inside, looking anxious. When he saw she hadn't followed through with her threat, he looked relieved before bowing to Roshi, who was still grinning coaxingly at Bulma.   
  
"I'll take her from your presence, Master," he informed the Keeper calmly, before latching onto Bulma's arm with an iron-like grasp that she couldn't escape. As she screamed obscenities at both the Saiyan fighter and the perverted Keeper, Yamucha dragged her from the Temple.   
  
  
Eighteen glared at the Keeper, instantly disliking him. He, however, smiled winningly back.   
  
"I just need you to answer a couple of questions," he told her cheerfully. "No one else will know any of your history but the Book and I."  
  
"But me and the Book," Eighteen corrected absently, but the Keeper ignored her, picking up his quill once more.   
  
"Name?"  
  
"Eighteen." Roshi looked up, shaking his head.   
  
"Not your age, your name," he corrected.   
  
"My name is Eighteen," she growled. "E-I-G-H-T-E-E-N. I have no last name." The Keeper blinked slowly.  
  
"Oh." She watched him write it down.  
  
"I'm also eighteen in years. I turned eighteen exactly a week and two days ago." She didn't like the pleased look that flitted across his face, and scowled.   
  
"Your parents?"  
  
"Scientist Gerald Gero and Lady Gerri Brown."  
  
"Any siblings?"  
  
"An older brother named Seventeen. He's two years and five days older than me."   
  
"Your place of birth?"   
  
'Yellowstone, Gully."  
  
"Are you engaged or married?"   
  
"No," Eighteen said with venom. "I plan to be a spinster, and a rich one at that."   
  
"Occupation?" the Keeper asked, seemingly on the verge of hysterics.   
  
"Student at Yellowstone University, with a double major in Politics and Industry."  
  
"That will be all," Roshi said, then paused, eyeing her speculatively. Eighteen scowled. She didn't like that look.   
  
"What?" she demanded, but he only grinned and pointed at her.   
  
"You're very lovely, do you know that?" the Keeper asked slyly. Her eyes narrowed, and she didn't reply. Her hands slowly balled into fists as he creakingly stood from his chair and made his way towards her.   
  
"Stay away from me," she said dangerously, when he was a few feet away. Roshi smirked and took another step towards her. He never saw her coming. One instant he was walking towards her, the next second he was in his rocking chair, his head aching from a hard blow. Blinking hard, the Keeper peered around, only to see the open doorway and that the blonde had disappeared. He sighed with disappointment, and began to rock once more.   
  
  
Once Chi-Chi had managed to assure the extremely confusing Saiyan that she wasn't going to keel over, they made their way into the Temple where Master Roshi waited. As they did so, she eyed the Saiyan, unsure of how to label him. At first, she had thought he was merely the sort of harmless fellow who had been dropped on his head as a child. Now, after he had broken that other Saiyan's wrist, she knew he wasn't harmless. Even as she remembered the look of wrath on his face, she shivered slightly. Luckily, the goofily grinning Saiyan didn't notice. Chi-Chi hadn't realized they had entered the Temple until he spoke.   
  
"If he tries anything, call me," suggested the Saiyan, who had never introduced himself, loud enough for the old man, most likely Master Roshi, to hear him. As the young fighter exited the Temple, the Keeper glared after him. Finally noticing Chi-Chi watching him, he managed a hurried smile.   
  
"Name?" Chi-Chi chewed on her lower lip, hesitating on telling the old man her birth name. But he didn't seem able to even leave the Temple, so she finally told him.  
  
"Lady Chi-Chi of Solace." Master Roshi stared at her, looking almost amused for a moment.   
  
"Parents?"  
  
"The duke of Solace, also known as the Ox King, and Lady Chi-Tin Pastille."  
  
"Siblings?"  
  
"None."  
  
"Age?"  
  
"I'm turning eighteen in four weeks."  
  
"Place of birth?"  
  
"Solace, Succor."  
  
"Are you married or engaged?" Chi-Chi snorted at that.   
  
"My parents wish," she replied dryly, recalling the numerous suitors, all wanting to gain the duke's favor.   
  
"Occupation?"   
  
"Being a lady at Solace Castle, and being a captive of the Saiyans?" Chi-Chi suggested sarcastically, and Roshi laughed loudly.   
  
"I like your attitude." The Keeper gazed at her for a moment, looking almost hopeful, then with a nervous glance towards the door and the Saiyan that waited outside he at last shook his head and motioned for her to go.   
  
"Don't worry, milady. I'll keep your secret," he called after just as she reached the door. Turning, she grinned a real, happy smile for the first time in ages, a grin that lit up her face and made her absolutely beautiful.   
  
"Thank you, Master Roshi."  
  
Roshi was still staring when she closed the door behind her.   
  
  
"Let's go," the girl said, actually sounding cheerful as she turned to close the exit. When she turned to face Kakarrot, he found his breath suddenly gone.   
  
The girl looked stunning when she smiled. When she did, her face glowed with an almost heavenly radiance, and her eyes... Her eyes softened until they were like pools of darkest chocolate...  
  
She suddenly noticed him staring, and instantly the smile was gone, and so was the radiance. Kakarrot finally caught his breath, and gave her a sheepish smile, although why he felt so embarrassed he didn't know.  
  
"I'll show you to your room. You'll be sharing it with two other captives," he informed her. She nodded, and Kakarrot led the way to the captive wing of his lord's palace.  
  
  
Bulma looked up as a cheerful masculine voice reached her ears.   
  
"This will be your living room, which has an exit to the hallway, and a door that lead to the bathroom and three doors for the bedrooms," he was saying. "I hope you like it-" Then the door swung open, and a Saiyan and a fellow captive stepped inside. The girl was a dark-haired beauty who looked around the large, spacious first room of her quarters.  
  
"Oh I do," she quipped sardonically. The Saiyan, which Bulma recognized as the goofy one who always called the lord's son Lord Vegeta, didn't seem to notice, and smiled childishly with delight.  
  
"Good," he said. "I've got to go visit Lord Vegeta." Then his voice changed, and he sounded as if he was reading from a manual. "If you need anything, pull that chord-" he pointed to the golden cord that ran out into the hallway "-and a servant will come to help you. You'll be served all meals here, unless told otherwise. You'll be called to the courtyard tomorrow an hour or two after breakfast. I guess that's it." Giving her a grin, he nodded to the other two in the room before disappearing out of the door. The girl stared after him for a moment, looking oddly bewildered, then turned to smile shyly at her roommates.   
  
"Hello," Bulma said, introducing herself.   
  
"I'm Eighteen," their last roommate informed her, giving the girl a rare smile.  
  
"I'm Chi-Chi," she imparted, once more bashfully. Eighteen looked blank, but Bulma gaped at the girl.   
  
"Chi-Chi?" Bulma repeated. "As in, Chi-Chi the daughter of the Ox King and only niece of King Zen of Succor?" Even Eighteen had heard of the two men, and looked wide-eyed.   
  
Chi-Chi timidly nodded but added, looking furtively around, "Please don't tell anyone. I don't want any of the Saiyans knowing. If my father and uncle are still alive, they might use me to get to them or something." Both girls nodded solemnly, and then all were silent for a long moment, not knowing what to say. At last, one of them piped up.   
  
"Well, what happened to you two?" Bulma inquired, noticing the girls' injuries. Eighteen looked down, absently fingering the brace that held her wrist in place. That short Saiyan had taken her to the infirmary after seeing the Keeper, then to her room before disappearing to who knows where.  
  
"One of those commanders did it," she muttered, the very incident making her cheeks flush angrily.   
  
"And then that crazy Saiyan broke his wrist," Chi-Chi added, with a note of satisfaction in her voice. Eighteen looked briefly surprised, then grinned in malicious pleasure.   
  
"That he did." Bulma raised an eyebrow, having been dragged off by Yamucha before the event.   
  
"Well, what happened to you?" she asked Chi-Chi.   
  
"One of the Saiyan in the troop who captured me got mad when I yelled at his father, and hit me," the girl replied quickly, her hand instinctively going to hide the bruise.   
  
"He hit you pretty hard," Eighteen commented, and Bulma nodded agreement. Suddenly Eighteen eyed the blue-haired girl.   
  
"Nothing's happened to you," she stated matter-of-factly. Bulma blinked, then shrugged.   
  
"Not yet." Chi-Chi and Eighteen looked at each other, and both slowly grinned. Bulma glanced at them warily. She didn't like that look. Her eyes followed Chi-Chi as she walked over to a reading table and rummaged through the drawer. Grinning triumphantly, Chi-Chi turned to reveal a large pair of scissors in her hand.   
  
"What are you going to do with that?" Bulma demanded, eyeballing the scissors guardedly. Chi-Chi grinned mischievously.   
  
"There can be no perfect roommates. You must be flawed."   
  
Bulma snorted in disbelief. "What, are you going to try and cut my cheek or something?"   
  
"Cut your cheek?" repeated Chi-Chi, smirking evilly. "No, I'm going to cut something much worse... Your hair." The blue-eyed woman's hands instinctively flew to her lengthy azure locks, her pride and joy.   
  
"You are not cutting my hair!" she declared firmly, then screamed loudly as Eighteen lunged for her. The young woman leapt out of harm's way and raced around the room as the other two girls chased her, the former screeching piercingly and the two latter laughing madly.   
  
None of them noticed the door open until a thunderous voice roared, "Just what the hell is going on here?" The three teenagers froze, wide-eyed, before slowly turning to face the doorway.   
  
  
A dreadfully irritated Vegeta, an extremely baffled Kakarrot, and an incredibly amused Krillin stared back, all with their arms crossed against their chests.  
  
  
To be continued...  



	2. Chapter Two: Issues Over Having Fun, Hei...

(Author's Notes: Due to numerous reviewers telling me to read Flying Pen's Cruel Fate? I did so. I forgot, being myself, to review it until she published the twenty-first chapter, but I did agree with all of you. It was remarkably similar to mine. But, to tell the truth, I like hers a lot more, and urge everyone who's reading this to read that wonderful story too. Of course, this story's fun to write (especially since I'm experiencing writer's block with the other numerous stories I'm writing on fanfiction.net, and I want to thank everyone who's reviewed so far. I didn't expect over thirty-five! I expected more along the lines of five or so... Oh, and to answer some questions I saw in the reviews, this is supposed to be set in ancient times, but not Earth or Vegeta-sei. I'm not sure yet if there's magic... I usually don't know anything that happens in my stories until they happen. I do, however, know that there won't be much technology. Basically think of the Greek era, since Ancient Greece is so fun to study. Also, this chapter has lots of curse words (especially Vegeta and Eighteen), so be prepared! Even though you all probably don't care... There are arguments galore in this chapter. Well, you all are probably bored by my ramblings, so on with the story! Enjoy!)  
  
Chapter Two: Issues Over Having Fun, Height, and Many Things  
  
Without a word, Chi-Chi sheepishly hid the scissors behind her back and attempted to look innocent. Eighteen merely smirked, imitating the Saiyans' stances. Bulma just looked mortified, her hands still tangled protectively in her hair.   
  
When no one answered, the scowl of the lord's son deepened.   
  
"Well?" he growled, raising a regal eyebrow. At that, Bulma finally found her ability to speak.  
  
"They were going to... cut my hair," she enlightened the Saiyans lamely. The shortest one, who Eighteen recognized as Krillin, snickered, unable to help himself. His mirth was quickly ended by Vegeta's glare, and the undersized Saiyan cringed even as Eighteen rolled her eyes. The lord's son eyed Bulma, his gaze impassive.   
  
"Why?"   
  
"Because it's fun to hear her scream?" Eighteen suggested innocently, sneering as the lord's son- Vegeta, hadn't it been?- ignored her. On the contrary, Bulma didn't.  
  
"Oh yes, it was quite fun for me too," was her cynical reply, and the blonde grinned puckishly.  
  
"It doesn't sound fun," remarked the goofy Saiyan who had brought Chi-Chi to their room, still looking puzzled. Beside him, it was Krillin's turn to rotate his eyes upwards.  
  
"Shut up, Kakarrot," snapped Vegeta, and the inane youthful man sighed.   
  
"Sorry, Lord Vegeta." Even while Kakarrot asked for forgiveness, Bulma's eyes flashed with dangerous ire.  
  
"Do you even know what fun is?" she questioned icily, hands finally jerking from her azure tresses to come to rest huffily on her slender hips.   
  
  
"I have fun! I do!" Vegeta barked, furious at the girl's impertinence. He was the lord's son after all! "I spar with Kakarrot and Krillin all the time and-" The blue-haired girl's incredulous giggle hushed him momentarily.   
  
"Sparring..." she sneered sarcastically, lifting her eyes heavenward. "What entertainment!" Vegeta's short amount of patience had long since worn thin.   
  
"You will not speak to me with such disrespect, woman!" he roared at her, his eyes narrowed. The woman's eyes flashed impudently, and her hands clenched knuckle-white against her hips.   
  
"You will not call me woman, asshole!" she growled back. Vegeta was lunging towards her before he even knew what he was doing.   
  
"Whoa!" Kakarrot leapt between the two, blockading both from the other. "Calm down!" Meanwhile, the sarcastic blonde had placed an unyielding and constricting hand on the woman's shoulder.   
  
"No one- especially not a woman- is going to disrespect me and get away with it," Vegeta hissed, glowering at the woman and ignoring Kakarrot.   
  
"Well, no one is going to call me a woman with such contempt and get away with it. My name is Bulma!" the woman shouted back, staring angrily at him. "Bulma, you chauvinist swine!"   
  
"I don't give a damn what your name is, woman. Do you even realize who you're talking to?" the lord's son demanded fiercely.   
  
"A pompous jerk?" the girl called Bulma suggested coldly, her pale blue eyes still flashing with temper.  
  
"I," Vegeta stated coldly, "am Crown Lord Vegeta of Eyras, Saiya. I am more important than you will ever be."   
  
"And I am Bulma Briefs, Head Scientist of High Waters City!" she declared haughtily as she tossed her head, "and I'm smarter than you'll ever be!"  
  
"I highly doubt that," the lord's son replied frostily.   
  
"Well, then think again." Blazing blue orbs matched flaring obsidian ones as the two glowered at each other.  
  
  
"Maybe we should leave," suggested Krillin, eyeing the three women warily. The blonde and the girl with the scissors by now were glaring at Vegeta, and all three looked ready to pounce.  
  
"Scared, short-stuff?" Vegeta sneered, never breaking his staring contest with the blue-haired young woman named Bulma. Krillin frowned. Why did everyone have to tease him about being tiny? It wasn't his fault that shortness ran in the family!  
  
"No, but your father scheduled a meeting with you, and it's almost time for that," the smallest Saiyan informed him. That seemed to snap Vegeta back to reality, since the lord's son blinked and turned away from the staring competition.   
  
"It is?" When Krillin nodded, Vegeta turned back to the girls with a fixed stare.   
  
"In the future," he advised them icily, "remember to be quiet. At all times." Without another word, the lord's son left, Krillin hastening after him.   
  
  
"He has a point. It's better not to get into trouble," the goofy Saiyan commented, seemingly unaware that his two associates had vanished.   
  
"Looks who's talking. You said you were going to get your ass kicked by him because-"  
  
"Shh!" The Saiyan waved frantically at Eighteen to silence her. "He doesn't know yet!" He looked around, apparently just realizing that both of his friends had gone. "Well, bye!" The silly young man grinned at them a final time, then turned and vanished in the direction the two had gone. Silence reigned in large room until-  
  
"Don't even think about it, Chi-Chi." The lady in question gave Bulma the impression of being shamefaced, and tried, once more unsuccessfully, to hide the scissors behind her back.   
  
"Some other time, Chi." Eighteen commented, and the two conspirators shared a grin as Bulma groaned and raced for the nearest bedroom chamber to hide.   
  
  
Meanwhile, Vegeta was silently seething. He'd prove to her how important he was. He'd show that insufferable witch how sharp he was. Then that damn woman would have to ask, no, beg for his forgiveness...  
  
"Milord? It's time for the meeting." A quiet voice interrupted his thoughts, and the lord's son looked up to release his glare upon the speaker.   
  
Kakarrot didn't bat an eye, only stared back with a customary annoying grin.   
  
"It's time for the meeting," he said again, with a tone of immense persistence. Shaking his head to clear all thoughts of that intolerable girl from his head, Vegeta stiffly nodded.   
  
"Let's go." Silently, he stalked towards the main room of his palace, his two companions trailing closely behind him. Off to the throne room and his father.  
  
  
As Vegeta headed to meet with his sire, Bulma fumed mutely in her bedchambers. How dare that horrible man speak to her like that! She didn't care if he was the lord's son. He was just another obnoxious jerk. A horrible swine, that's what he was. And he was probably brainless too.   
  
No, she corrected herself; he was at least smart enough to memorize insults and quotes of noble tone. The azure-haired scientist's eyes narrowed as she sat on her bed, her chin resting in her hands.   
  
She'd show that impossible lordship how smart she was. She'd prove how important /she/ was to society. Then that dreadful man would have to request, no plead, for her pardon...  
  
"Bulma? Can we come in?" a voice called through the door as a crafty smirk formed on her lips. Bulma looked up, and hesitated, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.   
  
"Well... Does Chi-Chi still have the scissors?" she called. A muffled curse met her ears, and her smirk widened slightly.   
  
"Umm... No?" Chi-Chi called sweetly, obviously lying through her teeth.   
  
"Umm... No?" Bulma mimicked, rolling her eyes. "Get lost."   
  
"Damn it..." Eighteen's half-joking second curse met her ears as Bulma threw back her head and laughed.   
  
  
Eighteen and Chi-Chi stared at each other, wordlessly assessing the other as they also tried to figure out how to get into Bulma's bedroom and get at her soon-to-be imperfect locks.   
  
Eighteen looked the part of a commoner, but definitely not of a feminine one. Her pale blue slacks were beginning to fray at the ankles, and her sandals were worn, varying from dark leather to worn pale as they adorned her feet. Her long-sleeved blouse was a pale yellow that looked fairly new and matched her locks of cream. The only piece of jewelry that she wore was a simple silver necklace that held an oddly engraved silvery talisman of a flying eagle and a strange-looking beast the other recognized as one of the smaller types of monkeys found in foreign lands far away. A chimpanzee, she thought its name was.   
  
Chi-Chi, however, appeared as if she had been captured while attending a ball. Her gown was of darkest garnet, and twirled around her ankles. Golden designs of flowers and exotic birds covered the front part of her dress, while the rest was simply crimson silk. Her shoes were the same color as her dress as they peeked out from under the folds of the gown. Unlike Eighteen, she was practically covered in golden trinkets. Three bracelets decorated each of her slender wrists, and every finger had at least two rings with assorted jewels. Ruby earrings dangled from her ears, and a delicately carved necklace circled around her neck. A tiara, slightly tilted from her misadventures, peeked out from her messy tresses of ebony.   
  
Eighteen raised an incredulous eyebrow.   
  
"How in the world have the Saiyans not figured out that you're royalty yet?" Chi-Chi blinked in confusion, then realization dawned and she grinned awkwardly, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.   
  
"I see what you mean," she commented, her eyes narrowing in contemplation. "I guess I was lucky that they were too busy raiding and celebrating to notice. And that other one probably wouldn't notice if I only wore my undergarments." After a pause, she smiled and slowly nodded to herself. Without further ado, she reached up and ripped the circlet from her mane, tossing it almost casually to the nearest chair. A second later, her bracelets landed next to the tiara. Then all the rings but one, which adorned her left hand and its ring finger. The ring was gold and held a single stone of darkest black. Afterwards Chi-Chi looked up to smile proudly at the other girl, all the jewelry she had left on being the ring, the necklace, and the earrings.   
  
"So now you're just a little rich girl?" Eighteen commented, trying to hide her amusement at the other's smugness. Chi-Chi nodded, looking complacent.   
  
"Precisely." Eighteen couldn't help it: she snickered. Chi-Chi shot her an injured and puzzled look.   
  
"What?" she demanded. Eighteen merely shook her head. "What?"  
  
  
"You called for me, sire?" Vegeta asked respectfully, bowing towards his father. The lord nodded formally, and waved a hand towards the two men who stood as sentinels beside his throne. The pair of King's Guards bowed once, and hurried from the room to join Kakarrot and Krillin outside. As soon as the enormous door slammed shut behind the retreating duo, the two sovereigns relaxed, and the lord allowed a small smile to form on his handsome if slightly aged face. Vegeta smiled faintly too. He and his father had always been close, but pretended to dislike each other for the court's gossip. After all, someday soon Vegeta would have to kill the lord and ascend the throne. It wouldn't do for them to actually care for each other. At that, Vegeta's smile faded slightly.  
  
"See any girls who interest you, Vegeta?" his father questioned with more than a little laughter in his voice, not noticing his son's grin weaken. Vegeta snorted in response, crossing his arms against his chest.   
  
"No." His reply was flat. "So far they've all been bitches." The lord raised an eyebrow skeptically.   
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, you saw that daft girl speak up when I was talking to Nappa. And then that stupid girl's friend..." Speaking aloud about that idiotic woman only made him more irritable, and he clenched his fists in annoyed anger. "If I pull her name from the Basket, I'm slitting my throat." The lord chuckled.   
  
"She can't be that bad." His father's tone was dubious.  
  
"She is," growled Vegeta through clenched teeth. "She screams like a banshee, she called me an asshole, and she laughed, /laughed/ at me when I told her I was the crown lord!"   
  
"Laughed at you?" the lord repeated. Vegeta's glare was enough of an answer, and his father looked away, obviously trying to hide a smirk. "She sounds like one of a kind."  
  
"Oh, she is," Vegeta agreed sourly. "That blue-haired bitch is certainly unique. But trust me, that won't be a good thing for her. Ever."  
  
"If you say so." His father still didn't meet his gaze, and Vegeta knew he was struggling to hold back laughter.   
  
"Father?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do shut up."   
  
The lord's thunderous mirth was his only reply, and Vegeta growled.  
  
  
"So, did you see any girls you like, Krillin?" Kakarrot asked curiously, leaning against the door and trying to force his curiosity away from the laughter that met his ears from the throne room.   
  
"Well, it doesn't matter, does it?" the shorter Saiyan pointed out. "Whoever we get we have to deal with."  
  
"That's true..." Kakarrot paused, and then asked, ignoring his friend's groan, "So, do you think any of the girls are pretty?" The King's Guards shot each other amused looks, and one of them spoke up.  
  
"Do you, Kakarrot?" The tall Saiyan blinked rather stupidly and the sentinel repeated the question, although more than a little wickedly. Krillin snickered, glad the attention was off him as his friend flushed.   
  
"No... They all seem to hate me." The two guards sniggered.  
  
"Actually, only those three girls do, to my knowledge, and they seem to hate all Saiyans," Krillin reasoned audibly once more. Kakarrot grinned goofily.   
  
"That's true," he agreed, one hand reaching up to support his head away from the large door. "They all seem to dislike us for some odd reason."  
  
"Gee, I wonder why," Krillin drawled. "Could it be because we just burned their cities to the ground and probably killed their entire families?" Kakarrot brightened, his face lighting up.   
  
"That's probably it!" he declared excitedly, and all three companions fell at his feet in hysterics as he looked on in bewilderment. "What's so funny?"  
  
  
"What?" Chi-Chi repeated doggedly for about the tenth time in the last thirty seconds. "What?"   
  
"Nothing..." Eighteen mumbled, having long since lost all amusement at the girl's previous smugness. Now all Chi-Chi was doing was trying her patience. "You're just a little too royal. I've never met anyone as high-classed as you." Chi-Chi blinked.   
  
"Oh... Well, do you think anyone will notice?" she asked nervously. Eighteen eyed her, noting the regal way she held herself, and aura of royalty that seemed to pulsate around her. The blonde sighed, shaking her head.   
  
"Chi, milady, I think you need a little teaching the area of being a commoner." Chi-Chi looked puzzled.   
  
"I suppose so..." Her reluctant words were scarcely out of her words before Eighteen pounced.   
  
"Lesson Number One," she instructed, sitting the girl in the nearest chair not covered in jewelry, "you need to learn how to slump." Chi-Chi looked horrified.   
  
"But I like my posture the way it is!" she protested. Eighteen rolled her eyes.   
  
"Lesson Number Two is not to use big words." As Chi-Chi sighed, the blonde continued. "Back to the first lesson. Slump your shoulders forward slightly, and tilt your head forward too. Like you're carrying something on the base of your neck." Chi-Chi whimpered but complied, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in her shoulders as she began to learn how to be a "commoner".   
  
  
"The Ceremony of Marriage is only three months away, Vegeta," his father reminded him. The lord's son grunted in response, back to dark moodiness. "I'm sure you'll pick a lovely girl. Maybe one of the exotic prisoners."   
  
Wrong choice of words, the lord decided as Vegeta's onyx eyes flashed. Even as Vegeta began to growl furiously, his father couldn't help but notice how his attention never strayed far from the blue-haired "bitch".   
  
"Exotic? You call those freaks exotic? She's got fucking blue hair, and her friend has blond hair! What kind of hair color is that? At least their silent companion has normal black locks. But even she's a bit odd. They're all insane. Every one of them, especially that bitch..." He trailed off, muttering dark words under his breath.   
  
"I sincerely pity that girl if you do pick her name," the lord announced, and ignored his offspring's glare, dissolving into strident laughter once more.   
  
  
Bulma reclined back on her bed, which was incredibly comfortable. Even if they weren't exactly hospitable themselves, the people of Saiya certainly did know how to furnish the quarters of their prisoners. Her room was endowed with a large closet (filled with clothes that only Saiyan women would wear- and of which Bulma would not), a writing desk and chair, an enormous bed with extra soft pillows and silk sheets, and a large loveseat.   
  
The theme of her room seemed to be the color blue, she decided, glancing lazily down at the dark indigo sheets of her bed. Resting her head on the largest and softest pillow, she felt her heavy eyelids begin to close. It had been a long day... And not helped at all by a certain abhorrent figure of a lord's son...  
  
With that final thought, Bulma was fast asleep.   
  
  
"No," Chi-Chi stated firmly. Eighteen sighed.   
  
"Come on, it's Lesson Number Twelve."   
  
"No! I am not going to curse without a good reason! I'll curse at the Saiyans, but not now!" protested the black-haired girl, crossing her arms against her chest and trying to stay slouching.   
  
"Well, at least you didn't use a big word," Eighteen mumbled, but nevertheless shook her head. "Come on. It's easy, Chi. Listen. Damn. Fuck. Shit. Hell-"  
  
"Be quiet!" Chi-Chi yelled, bolting from the room. After a shocked moment of frozen inactiveness, Eighteen bolted after her, wordlessly wondering if they were even allowed outside their rooms.   
  
  
The two King's Guards and Krillin had finally picked themselves off the floor. Kakarrot had given up on getting the reason of their laughter in the end, and now stood staring at the door, wondering what Vegeta and his father were talking about.  
  
"Even if they do hate you, do you think any of them are pretty?" the taller guard persisted. Kakarrot blinked once more, then turned red in the face. As the other three watched him, he shrugged and mumbled something under his breath that none could catch.   
  
"What-" Krillin began, snickering, then paused to watch two familiar figures turn the nearest corner and race past them. All four turned and watched the girls run.   
  
"Say, weren't those two of the captives? And the pair that really, really hated you?" Krillin remarked, more than a little surprised. Kakarrot shut his gaping mouth, and nodded, for once at a loss for words. "Maybe we should go take them back to their rooms."  
  
"Yeah." Kakarrot and Krillin shrugged towards the guards, and bolted after the two women, one holding her ears and the other screaming profanities.   
  
  
The two sentries stared after the four, eyes wide. At last, one of them cleared their throats and spoke.   
  
"That was..."  
  
"Interesting?" the shorter one suggested, and his comrade nodded.   
  
"Extremely interesting..."  
  
"Do you think milord will need us anytime soon?" The laughter could still be heard through the thick door.   
  
"Purslane, don't be an idiot. If he needs us, he'll call for us."   
  
"I'm not an idiot. Kakarrot's an idiot!" Purslane's statement made his friend smile slightly, the stern look on his face easing faintly.   
  
"Whatever you say, Slane. Want to go watch those two chase after the prisoners?"   
  
"Sure!" Purslane agreed, his dark eyes lighting up. "Let's go!" Without another word, he grabbed his companion's arm and dragged him after the vanishing four.   
  
"Get off..." His comrade's growl was low and cold, but Purslane ignored the tone, knowing his friend wouldn't hurt him. Probably...   
  
"Say please, Collard! Pretty please! With sugar on top!"   
  
"You /are/ as stupid as Kakarrot!" the taller man commented.   
  
"I am not... He doesn't get sarcasm," Purslane protested as Collard sighed.   
  
"And of course you do," was his sardonic reply. The other man grinned brightly and nodded.   
  
"Right!" he beamed, and continued to tow Collard away, oblivious to his friend's groan.   
  
"My point is proven..." Collard muttered, shaking his head as he wrenched his arm from Purslane's grasp and followed the four on his own, ignoring the other's injured look.   
  
  
"You can stop laughing now," Vegeta suggested, face set in a scowl. The lord, who had been laughing heartily for over five minutes, managed to control his mirth. Barely. Every few seconds his lips would twitch uncontrollably, and he'd have to cough to hide a snicker.   
  
And Vegeta glared.   
  
"Sorry," his father managed out, still looking highly amused. "There must be something-" Cough "-in my throat."  
  
"Bull shit," his son muttered, and the lord lost it once more.   
  
  
"Got you!" Eighteen said triumphantly, having cornered Chi-Chi at the end of a hallway. "Now you'll finish Lesson Number Twelve!"   
  
"I'm not going to-" insisted the young lady stubbornly, glaring at the other girl through her hands, which covered her face.   
  
"Excuse me?" Eighteen turned and sighed. Not those two again. Luckily, that arrogant lord's son wasn't with them.   
  
"What do you two want?" she questioned coldly, glaring at them both. Kakarrot and Krillin exchanged looks, then Krillin spoke.  
  
"You're not supposed to leave your rooms unless told to." Eighteen snorted.   
  
"So? You're not my boss," she stated huffily, hands on hips. Krillin rolled his eyes.   
  
"We're your captors. You abide by our rules now."   
  
"No."   
  
"No?" Krillin raised an eyebrow.   
  
"No."   
  
"You're going to, or else." Eighteen's eyes narrowed dangerously.   
  
"I will not be ordered around by a dwarf who doesn't even have a nose!" she snarled, face flushing in anger. She watched with satisfaction as Krillin's face settled into a frown.   
  
  
"Well, at least I'm not some graceless giant!" he snapped back, knowing all the while he was lying through his teeth. She was elegantly tall, her height fitting her frame perfectly. Furthermore, she most definitely wasn't clumsy. The blonde sucked in her breath quickly, looking outraged.   
  
"I am not graceless!" she growled, striding forward so that they were only inches away from each other, then bending forward to locks gazes, bright blue eyes flashing.   
  
"Sure you are! And you run like a chicken!" Even as she glared ominously at him, the Saiyan couldn't help but snicker at his own words. Like a chicken?  
  
"I do not!" she yelled, her furious words filling his ears.   
  
"Yes you do! You don't bend your legs, and you run like this!" To emphasize his point, Krillin stiffened his legs and moved to hobble backwards. Unfortunately, the line 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' didn't apply to his situation, and he fell forward, knocking heads with the still crouching blonde.  
  
"Ow!" they both bellowed at the same time, hands jerking towards their foreheads. Simultaneously they looked up to glare at each other.   
  
"Smooth," the blonde sneered. Krillin rolled his eyes in reply.   
  
"You're the one who got in my face, Chicken."   
  
  
Concurrently, Kakarrot and the black-haired girl snickered behind their hands. The arguers turned to direct their glowers upon their friends.   
  
"Sorry," Kakarrot said with a shrug, still sniggering. "But you have a huge red mark on your forehead."   
  
"And you... you're a chicken!" the girl giggled, ignoring the blonde's glare. Kakarrot laughed louder, then suddenly paused, looking woeful.   
  
"Chicken..." he sighed. "I'm hungry."   
  
"You're always hungry, Kakarrot," Krillin commented.   
  
"I'm hungry," he repeated, ignoring his companion.   
  
"Well, we can't help that now can we?" observed the brunette, her tone once more frosty as she apparently realized who she was laughing with. Kakarrot shrugged.   
  
"I'm going to go get something to eat," he mumbled, ignoring his short friend's protests.   
  
"Kakarrot, we have to get them back to their rooms!"   
  
"We'll do that for you," sighed a voice, and Kakarrot turned to grin at the King's Guards, both of whom looked amused.   
  
"Thanks, Collard."   
  
"You're welcome, but he just wants to get out of your way so you can get to some food," Purslane replied, earning a glare from his larger comrade.  
  
"Stop talking, Slane." The Saiyan grinned and ignored him.   
  
"What room are they in?" Kakarrot quickly told them the number, grinning thankfully as he did so. Then with a cheerful wave towards the two miffed-looking women, he dashed off in the direction of the kitchens, a sighing Krillin close behind.   
  
  
Purslane grinned at the two girls.   
  
"Well, let's go, shall we?" he suggested brightly. The pretty blonde scowled and folded her arms across her chest, the brunette quickly copying her.   
  
"No."   
  
"No?"   
  
"No."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No." Seeing the cycle begin once more, Collard rolled his eyes and grabbed the blonde by the arm.   
  
"Let's go, Slane," he directed, ignoring the girl's curses and dragging her in the direction of her room. Blinking for a moment, Purslane beamed.  
  
"Coming!" Cheerfully, he seized the brunette's arm and proceeded to haul her after Collard and her friend.   
  
  
"Food..." Kakarrot grinned and, ignoring the cooks' horrified looks, tucked into the nearest food-laden table with vigor. Krillin groaned, and hesitantly asked for a bowl of noodle soup. With a grateful look towards him and a terrified one towards Kakarrot, the nearest worker nodded and hurried off. With another sigh, Krillin turned towards his friend.   
  
"Could you at least chew with your mouth closed?" he questioned wearily. Kakarrot paused in his devouring of a large bread roll to look at Krillin in puzzlement.   
  
"Um... Okay," he said inanely, and continued to do the opposite as Krillin shook his head, sending black locks in every direction.   
  
  
"Assholes," Chi-Chi mumbled as the door locked shut behind the two Saiyans, earning a pleased look from Eighteen.   
  
"We are not!" the one called Slane yelled through the door, his cheerful tone evident in the muffled words. Both girls ignored him, but wondered how he had heard Chi-Chi's statement.   
  
"Let's see if Bulma's door is still locked," Chi-Chi suggested, her eyes straying to the scissors that had been left unattended. Eighteen rolled her eyes, something she seemed to do quite often.   
  
"It probably will be-" She was silenced as the bedroom door opened with a quiet click. Both girls began to grin evilly. Their smiles widened as they noticed Bulma was sleeping soundly and unawares. Chi-Chi fetched the scissors, and together the two slipped quietly into the bedroom.   
  
  
"Just go," the lord gasped out, waving a helpless hand towards his son. Vegeta scowled and shrugged.   
  
"Very well. Talk to you later, Father." Without another word, he stalked from the throne room, hearing his only living blood relation begin to laugh once more as he closed the door behind him. Turning as he rolled his eyes, Vegeta noticed with some surprise that both his father's guards and his own companions were gone.   
  
"Parents," was mumbled under his breath, and then he was gone, off in search of a familiar naïve idiot and a certain shortie.   
  
  
Chi-Chi and Eighteen shared a victorious smile as they crept silently from their friend's room, the former still clutching the scissors in her happiness.   
  
"I feel like taking a nap myself," Eighteen commented smugly, earning another stifled giggle from Chi-Chi. "How about you?"   
  
"Same here. Which room do you want?" Eighteen looked at the door on the left of Bulma's and then the door on the right.   
  
"The right one," she finally decided, and headed into the bedroom with a small smirk on her lips.   
  
"Have a nice rest!" Chi-Chi called, then groaned as Eighteen replied.   
  
"You too! Remember, we're still on Lesson Number Twelve!"  
  
Chi-Chi raced into her bedchamber and fastened the door securely, making sure it stayed locked for her. After staring at the bolt suspiciously for a long moment, she finally climbed into bed, dress and all. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.   
  
  
"Now I'm hungry," Purslane whined, rubbing his stomach sadly. Collard rolled his eyes.   
  
"Should I care?"   
  
"Yes... Let's go to the kitchens?" Collard shot his friend a disbelieving and horrified look.   
  
"You want to go to the kitchens while /Kakarrot/ is eating?" Purslane frowned slightly.   
  
"Good point," he concluded, scratching the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Maybe your wife will have something to eat?"   
  
"Maybe your wife?" Collard shot back. Purslane rolled his eyes, grinning at what he considered a joke.  
  
"C'mon Col, you know my wife can't cook."   
  
"That's true." Collard sighed. "Let's go see if she's up to fixing you anything." Purslane beamed.   
  
"Yes!" Raising his fist in triumph, he began to skip down the hall, ignoring his friend's sigh. "I love your wife's cooking!"   
  
"Everyone does," Collard grumbled, but followed after his friend.   
  
Of course, he didn't skip. Only Purslane did, earning the Saiyan many curious stares, as he did often.   
  
  
Eighteen peered around her room, deciding her color theme was yellow. Stroking the lemon-colored sheets and marveling at their soft feel, the commoner smiled slightly in bitter amusement.   
  
This was a better room than her old one. Well, her latest old one. After running away from home, as Seventeen had done the year before, she had lived in numerous hideouts, trying to hide from her father's long-reaching fingers.   
  
Of course, everyone thought Scientist Gerald Gero was an honorable fellow. He was brilliant, she'd give him that, but he was also an asshole at home. If anything went wrong at work, he'd come home and blame anyone he could lay his hands on. His wife, his son, his daughter...   
  
Eighteen could admit she hated her father. She supposed she always had, once she had learned that not all fathers came home and hit their children. She hated him for his abuse, and for making Seventeen run away. She had only seen Seventeen once since then, and he had gone off to be a mercenary of some sort.   
  
She smirked, recalling the familiar gleam in her brother's eyes. He'd earn enough money to come and support Mother, he'd told her, and then he'd kill their father for putting them through hell.   
  
Of course, now someone had already done the honors and ended Gerald Gero's life. And most likely Gerri Brown's too. Poor Seventeen would be so disappointed about the former and enraged at the latter. Mildly, she wondered what her brother would do when he discovered that Saiyans had carried her off and destroyed their hometown.   
  
Still smiling, her eyes fluttered close, and Eighteen slept.   
  
  
When Bulma woke half an hour later, her horror-struck screams could be heard even farther than the first time and effectively waking her "friends" from their slumber.  
  
  
To be continued... (Bulma and Vegeta: Great Minds Think Alive... he he! And one last thing is that I've noticed that everyone seems to portray Vegeta's dad as a jerk. Well, he gets to be cool in this story! And annoying to Vegeta... But someone else gets to be the bad guy... By the way, Collard and Purslane are mine! I think they're going to be in this chapter only though. They were just for fun mostly. And you'll find out more about Eighteen (the poor dear), Bulma, and Chi-Chi's pasts in later chapters. Please read and review! Thanks!)  



	3. Chapter Three: Yells, Screams, and Flyin...

(Author's Notes: Michi, that is very, very, very cool! Well, I know it's a little late, okay, extremely late, okay, totally late, but happy birthday! Sorry to keep y'all waiting. Soccer season was nearing an end and schoolwork was piling up. Well, soccer's over (even though I started pre- season on the 27th) and school's relaxing- slightly. I hope everyone enjoys the latest edition of Chances of the Scrolls, brought to you due to several persistent reviewers' urging. *smiles at Lady Silk* Thanks for the lovely reviews, despite the fact that nearly everyone was screaming at me about Bulma's hair. And I promise the next chapter will be longer. Enjoy!)  
  
Chapter Three: Yells, Screams, and Flying Fists  
  
Vegeta clapped his hands to his ears as the high-pitched screaming continued, ringing through his sensitive ears and sending painful tremors through his frame. When the shrieks finally cut off, the lord's son peeled his hands away as a scowl marred his visage. He already knew who had screeched. It was she, the blue-haired bitch. A growl exiting through his scowling mouth, he turned and stormed in the direction the screams had come from.  
  
  
  
"I'm going to kill you two!" Bulma raged at the top of her lungs, bolting from her room and glaring at the yawning duo who had staggered from their own bedrooms as she yelled.  
  
"What?" Eighteen managed to look somewhat innocent, whereas Chi-Chi continued to yawn, her dark curls in disarray around her face, which was slightly swollen from her short slumber.  
  
"You know what the hell you did!" Crimson-faced, the furious young woman pointed towards what had once been long locks of azure. The tresses, which had once been halfway down her back, were now cut irregularly; while some of the strands were severed at the base of her neck, others were short enough to barely brush her jaw. "You ruined my beautiful hair!"  
  
"Well, someone's a touch vain, aren't they?" Eighteen commented. She ignored the glare her remark earned her, returning the frown with a smirk. Chi-Chi roused herself enough to giggle, still clutching the scissors protectively to her chest. She had grabbed them when Bulma had woken them with her shrill yells.  
  
"What exactly were you screaming about now, bitch?" a dangerously cold voice questioned from the doorway, and the three girls turned to find an extremely annoyed lord's son glaring at them.  
  
"Déjà vu all over again," Eighteen mumbled under her breath, but this time Chi-Chi didn't giggle, only clutched the scissors tighter.  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Bulma snapped, turning her glare onto Vegeta. "Those two destroyed my hair!"  
  
  
  
It /WAS/ obvious. Vegeta couldn't completely hide the smirk that formed on his lips, so he forced them back into a dark scowl.  
  
"Oh shut up woman. Just cut the uneven parts so that they're all at the same length." The woman looked horrified at the thought, face paling drastically.  
  
"But I'd look like a boy!" Vegeta smirked malevolently. She had set herself up for that one.  
  
"But you already do."  
  
  
  
"Excuse me?" Bulma's words were soft and low, dangerously quiet as she fought to keep from strangling the horrid man then and there. "WHAT did you just say?" His smirk widened.  
  
"I said, woman, that you already do."  
  
"Oh, like you're the hottest guy in the world," Bulma snapped, glaring daggers.  
  
"You're right, I am." Ignoring her scornful snort, he continued. "And at least I'm not a freak."  
  
"I AM NOT A FREAK!" Bulma's shrill scream made her friends flinch, but Vegeta never batted an eye. She lowered her voice, clenching her hands in anger as both her words and fists trembled with rage. "For your information, many women who are born in Gully have blue hair!"  
  
"I already know that," was his calm reply, and the blue-haired woman blinked, staring at him in disbelief. "Did you think we Saiyan never researched the cultures of our neighboring lands?"  
  
"You only did to learn how to invade us," Bulma snapped scathingly and Vegeta smirked.  
  
"Perhaps. But I'll bet you I know more about your country than you know of mine." Bulma rolled her eyes in condescension.  
  
"I never learned about the land of Saiya because you all are simply a bunch of savages!" The smirk vanished, replaced by icy fury that carved his face into marble. Within seconds, however, the fury was gone, replaced by indifference.  
  
"All children in Gully are forced to go to school from age six until thirteen. Seven years. How long do Saiyans have to?" Bulma blinked, warmth rushing to her cheeks.  
  
"I-I," she faltered, and then narrowed her eyes. "Why should I care?"  
  
  
  
"Only those of the upper-class have to go to school from age three to sixteen. Thirteen years. Commoners, however, don't have to," Vegeta finished smugly, enjoying the look of resentment that flushed the girl's face, coloring the fairness of her flesh. "There are four classes in the Gully rank system. Upper class, middle-class, lower class, and foreigners. How many are there in the Saiya system?"  
  
The loud-mouthed girl stared at him, her bitterness and loathing of him now obvious to everyone in the room.  
  
"I don't know and don't care!" she declared at last, blue eyes flashing with outrage as Vegeta actually chuckled. Not a nice laugh, mind you, but a laugh nonetheless.  
  
"Five. The Elite, first-class, second-class, third-class, and serfs."  
  
"What are you doing, Lord Vegeta?" a curious voice questioned, and everyone in the room turned towards the doorway, where a familiar idiot and a nervous shrimp stood.  
  
"Proving my superior intellect," he drawled, earning an outraged squawk from the blue-haired girl.  
  
"You are NOT smarter than me!" Hands on hips, she glared at him, but Vegeta ignored her for once.  
  
"Krillin, isn't your mother a hair stylist?" When the puzzled Saiyan nodded, Vegeta flicked his fingers in dismissal. "Go get her!"  
  
  
  
With a last confused glance in the girls' direction, Krillin nodded, bowed and vanished into the hallway. Hurrying down the hall, he nearly bumped into several captives, all wondering what had happened to cause those terrible screams. The short Saiyan quickly reassured the pale captives that no one had been killed and that no one was going to be slaughtered or sacrificed in some barbaric ritual, and continued on his way.  
  
  
  
"Um, Lord Vegeta, what's going on?" Kakarrot repeated once more, eyeing the girl with the scissors warily.  
  
"Kakarrot," snapped Vegeta, noticing his nervous glances, "get those scissors from her." All amusement on the dark-haired girl's face vanished instantly, and she growled. Kakarrot sighed. Why did he have a feeling she was going to bite him? Nevertheless, he stepped towards her. Still growling like a cat with a caught mouse in its jaws, she scuttled away from the Saiyan, eyeing him warily.  
  
"Give me the scissors, please." Kakarrot gave her his most charming grin, which she ignored, scampering even further away from him while the other three in the room watched the scene taking place. Kakarrot sighed once more. "Please?"  
  
"Mine," she hissed dangerously, dark eyes flashing possessively. Rolling his eyes briefly, Kakarrot lunged.  
  
  
  
Faster than Chi-Chi could react, the goofy Saiyan pounced. She stumbled backwards and sat down hard on the couch as he attempted to wrestle the scissors from her. Of course, his fingers managed to brush other areas, and she gasped in outrage. Before Chi-Chi realized what she was doing, she released the scissors. Watching him grin in victory for a single moment, she watched her own hand rise to strike him as hard as she could across the face.  
  
  
  
"Ow!" Kakarrot yelped, scrambling away from her and dropping the scissors as he grabbed his cheek. The girl immediately bent and picked up the scissors, resuming her clasp of the troublesome object.  
  
"What did you do that for?" he demanded indignantly, rubbing his stinging cheek. For a girl, she sure had a formidable wallop. The girl glared at him.  
  
"You know exactly what you did, you miserable bastard!" she hissed venomously as Kakarrot stared at her blankly. He looked at Vegeta for help, but the lord's son was arguing with the blue-haired woman once more. The young Saiyan sighed and turned back towards Scissors Girl.  
  
"No, actually I don't. What did I do?" The girl continued to glare, and Kakarrot raised his eyes to the unseen skies. He was truly having a bad day.  
  
  
  
Chi-Chi was speechless with outrage. He was denying it? Denying that he had been feeling her up? The nerve! She half-wanted to slap him again, but for some reason she also felt like the unhidden confusion on the Saiyan's face was honest. So she simply glared.  
  
  
  
"Look, whatever I did, I apologize," Kakarrot said, scratching the back of his head as he watched her hopefully. "Please, will you give me your scissors? I promise I'll return them later, when Lord Vegeta says I'm allowed to." Some unknown emotion flickered in the girl's dark brown eyes, and then she silently handed the scissors to him. He smiled in relief, momentarily forgetting about the stinging of his cheek. She wouldn't leave a bruise. He hoped.  
  
"Thank you," Kakarrot told her sincerely, pocketing the scissors and mentally telling himself to put them in his room for safekeeping. "I swear I'll keep them safe."  
  
"You better," was her reply, but this time the words held no poison.  
  
  
  
"Milord, you called for me?" an anxious voice stated softly from the doorway, and Vegeta broke off from his argument with the blue-haired bitch to fix his glower onto the short woman. Krillin's mother trembled briefly, not being the bravest of the Saiyan women, but repeated her quiet question.  
  
"I want you to cut her hair," he snapped, jerking his thumb towards the glowering woman. Krillin's mother blinked, and then caught sight of whom he was thumbing towards. She looked shocked.  
  
"My poor dear, whatever happened to your hair?" she cried, horrified.  
  
  
  
"My roommates are both evil," Bulma informed the stylist sullenly, staring at the ground.  
  
"Well, sit down and let me take a look at the damage." Now that she knew what to do, she was all business, brisk and officious. Bulma sat down in the nearest chair, and the stylist moved all around her, assessing the mutilation with soft words under her breath that Bulma couldn't understand. Then, at last, the stylist pulled out a pair of scissors and began to snip.  
  
  
  
Kakarrot noticed Scissors Girl staring longingly at the scissors the beautician held, and whispered to her, smiling good-naturedly, "I'll return your pair as soon as possible." She peered at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, and then slowly broke into a delighted grin.  
  
"Thank you," she said melodiously, relaxing on the sofa as she watched the stylist work her magic. Kakarrot once more found himself thinking how much prettier she looked when she smiled. Blushing faintly, he ducked his head and turned to watch as the beautician finished with a crow of delight.  
  
  
  
"Finished. Do you like it?" the stylist asked quickly, watching Bulma run a wondering hand through her now-cropped mane.  
  
"Do you have a mirror?" The beautician nodded and handed a small one to her. Bulma stared at herself in the reflection, eyes narrowed slightly.  
  
She didn't look that bad. Her shorter locks, which curled around her chin, accented her delicate bone structure and made her eyes seem larger and more like a blue-eyed doe's.  
  
Smiling slightly, she handed the mirror back to the stylist with a quiet thank-you. Looking pleased, the beautician smiled back and darted off after bowing towards Vegeta.  
  
  
  
Vegeta watched as the woman called Bulma smiled with satisfaction, tossing her head back and letting the azure strands bounce against her cheeks. His eyes narrowed.  
  
"You know," he drawled lazily, "you really should thank me also. After all, I am the one who called for her." The woman snorted without looking at him.  
  
"I don't show gratitude to assholes," she replied coldly. Vegeta clenched his fists and was already striding towards her as Kakarrot leapt between the two once more.  
  
  
  
Chi-Chi watched as the goofy Saiyan attempted to calm Bulma and the lord's son down, slightly confused about her earlier actions. How could she be civil towards one of the monsters that had destroyed her home and probably killed her entire family? She eyed the inane young man, who was at the moment waving his arms wildly as he said something animatedly. His face was flushed but the mark of her hand was a darker than the rest of his visage. His dark eyes gleamed with conviction as he continued his rather long speech, which Bulma and the lord's son were both obviously ignoring; they were too busy glaring at each other. Kakarrot, the lord's son had called him. What an unusual name.  
  
"Oh give me a break, dimwit. They're not going to stop trying to kill each other," Eighteen snapped, jerking Chi-Chi back to the present. She blinked and watched Kakarrot pout.  
  
  
  
"Well, someone's certainly being a chicken, aren't they?" Eighteen glared at the shrimp who stood in the doorway.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped, folding her arms against her chest.  
  
"Not you too, Krillin! Why does everyone have to fight?" the stupid Saiyan whined, but everyone ignored him as the arguments flared up in earnest, lord's son against scientist, shortie against student.  
  
  
  
Chi-Chi sighed, and heard Kakarrot follow suit. She found herself watching him once more. He was still moping, lower lip jutted out like a disregarded child. A tousled lock of darkest black fell in front of his eyes but he didn't notice, too busy pouting.  
  
"They'll stop fighting sooner or later," she assured him. "At least they're not trying to claw each other's eyes out anymore." Kakarrot briefly grinned.  
  
  
  
"Good point." He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, at a loss for words. What sort of conversation did one have when their friends were screaming at each other? "So. Where did you used to live?"  
  
  
  
Wrong, wrong, wrong question. Chi-Chi's face darkened, and another duo joined the fighting group.  
  
"I lived in Solace, capital of Succor until you all burned it to the ground and killed everyone!" she said coldly, her voice rising with each word until she was screaming. Kakarrot cringed, but she continued to rant, the words pouring from her soul. "You and your damn conquests! What the hell did Succor ever do to you! We traded with you, you bloody backstabbers! We were your allies in the Saiya-Frieza War and helped you win the fucking thing!" Her voice was so loud that even Vegeta, Krillin, Bulma, and Eighteen had stopped to listen. "Hundreds of our best fighters helped you push King Frieza away from Saiya, and what do you do only a few years later? You fucking destroy our capital and kill the duke and duchess! You bastards! You mother-fucking sons of bitches! You assholes! You filthy pieces of shit-" Kakarrot clamped a hand over her mouth and she yelled against the warm flesh, only then aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
  
  
"She's right. You all are assholes!" Eighteen drawled, and almost lazily punched the shrimp in the jaw and sent him flying. He hit a chair and flipped the chair over, landing on the floor with a shocked oomph. Eighteen smiled with satisfaction, and dove in for the kill.  
  
  
  
Seeing Krillin go flying and noticing Kakarrot distracted, Chi-Chi bit down- hard. The Saiyan yelped and leapt away from her, grabbing his hand as blood welled from the bite marks. She glared at him and readied herself for further action if he tried to retaliate.  
  
  
  
Bulma watched her two friends take the Saiyans down, and turned to attack Vegeta, but found him inches from her, eyes cold.  
  
"Don't even think about it, bitch," he growled. In reply, the scientist kneed him in the sensitive spot and he went down with a look of surprise. Bulma allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction before turning in the hope that she and her friends could bolt. No such luck. Two unfamiliar Saiyans glared at them from the entrance.  
  
"Need any help, Kakarrot? Crown Lord Vegeta? Krillin?" the taller of them asked, a scowl firmly in place.  
  
"Yeah." Krillin wheezed around Eighteen's hands, which were squeezing his neck. "Get her off."  
  
"Will do!" the shorter one replied, and yanked the blonde away from her victim, pushing her roughly onto the couch. The taller Saiyan turned towards Chi-Chi, but the sobbing girl was already on the sofa, head in hands. He raised an eyebrow towards Kakarrot, who shrugged, still holding his injured hand.  
  
Bulma's neck was suddenly yanked painfully backwards as an incensed voice growled in her ear, "You'll live to regret that, woman." The lord's son released her hair and shoved her forcefully towards the couch. She sat down between Chi-Chi and Eighteen and glared at the five Saiyans.  
  
  
  
"What happened?" Purslane questioned, staring at the three captives. Kakarrot and Krillin shrugged, while Vegeta merely scowled.  
  
"I think it's the shock." Collard abruptly stated, watching the sobbing girl closely. "We heard her screaming at you, Kakarrot. What did you ask her?"  
  
  
  
"I just asked her where she was from." Kakarrot watched the girl in puzzlement, scarcely feeling the twanging pain in his hand. Collard nodded, looking grim.  
  
"I remember the last time they brought girls of age here. About two tried to kill the guards, another screamed for two days straight, and three tried to suicide."  
  
Kakarrot swallowed hard, for the first time experiencing a little guilt. He hadn't realized that they would be making the girls' lives living hells.  
  
"Three tried to suicide?" he repeated, eyes narrowing. All in all, the weeping young woman seemed the most likely candidate for that option. Collard nodded. "Maybe we should post a guard by this room."  
  
"It'll be done," snapped Vegeta brusquely. Ignoring the looks his fellow Saiyans were giving him, he turned and stormed from the room.  
  
  
  
Purslane shook his head pityingly. "You three are in trouble now." 


End file.
